Reign of Outlaws Read online

  He tugged a little harder. Sliding. Rolling.

  He pushed the drawer back in.

  Merryan lay in her bed, teasing the mound of crumpled tissues beside her. The guard was back outside her door. Her uncle was as much of a monster as everyone said. Mrs. Loxley and the other woman were suffering just a few floors below her feet and there was nothing she could do. Robyn was surely in danger, somewhere, with whatever her uncle was planning. Everything was terrible, and only getting worse.

  A knock came at the door.

  “Go away,” Merryan said.

  The guard spoke through the door. “Miss Crown, the governor would like to see you in his office.”

  It was early evening. Not late enough to claim to be sleepy. But Merryan considered refusing the call, anyway. He couldn’t just summon her every time he wanted to say something. Couldn’t he walk up the stairs to her room, like a normal guardian? But that wasn’t what monsters did, apparently.

  She trudged dutifully down to his office, wishing her rebel streak was stronger. Wishing his horribleness made her care less about him. Wishing he could become the kind of person she, and the whole city, deserved.

  “Something you said has stuck with me,” he told her. “The idea that I accompany you to Sherwood.”

  A blip of hope crossed Merryan’s radar. “If you could see what I do there, maybe you’d understand. Maybe you’d want to help, too.”

  Crown’s smile was cold. “I am who I am, you know.”

  “I just thought—”

  “My wife tried to change me. My colleagues tried. There is no use in these games. I am a man who will have his way at any cost.”

  Merryan could see that to be true. It was hurtful, and scary, and sad.

  “If you are going to live within these walls, it is only fair that you come to know me.”

  “You’ve said that already.” Merryan sniffled.

  “No school tomorrow. You wanted me to come to Sherwood with you. Wishes come true, my dear girl. You’ll be right beside me when I take this hoodlum down.”

  He spoke of Robyn in a different kind of tone than he had previously. Perhaps he had realized where Merryan’s true loyalties lay. So she didn’t bother to hide her dismay at the thought.

  Her uncle smiled. “The whole world will suffer as I have suffered. And I will never apologize.”

  Merryan spun on her heel and swept out of his office. She had to find a way to warn Robyn!

  Merryan hurried down the hallway, and burst into Bill Pillsbury’s office.

  “I’m interested in communications,” she said.

  Pill raised his eyebrows. “Oh?”

  “Yes,” she said hurriedly. She didn’t know how much time she had before the guards might come looking for her. “I want to learn how to talk to people better.”

  “PR training?” Pill mused. This was a turn. He had, of course, seen her in the hallway with Robyn and the other children. Helping the women from the dungeon escape. He had gained more respect for Merryan after that, but he couldn’t risk her blowing his cover.

  “May I speak freely?” Merryan asked.

  “I wouldn’t recommend it in this space.” Pill twirled a finger as if to indicate cameras or bugs in the ceiling. The castle was wired, Merryan knew, but she couldn’t imagine anyone was actually listening to every room at once.

  “Communications, PR, it’s not about speaking freely,” Pill explained. “It’s about saying exactly what needs to be said to the listening parties. No wasted words. No mistakes.”

  “Yes,” Merryan said. “I tend to blurt. And babble.”

  Pill knew this to be true. The poor girl was constantly flustered.

  “If I have a message, can you help me craft it?”

  “Interesting. What sort of message did you have in mind?” He hoped the girl was capable of choosing her words carefully.

  Merryan nodded. “Well, there’s nothing I have to say that—” she paused. “I mean, Uncle Iggy already knows how I feel.”

  “I was wondering,” he said. “I heard your rather heated discussion yesterday.”

  “The kids who broke into the mansion. They—I thought they were my friends. And I can’t get back,” she said, looking Pill in the eye. “I can’t get back at them. There’s so much I want to say, but I can’t let anyone know how I feel. Uncle Iggy says never let anyone see when you’re hurt.”

  “I can imagine his perspective on that,” Pill kept his tone noncommittal.

  “I thought since you are a communications expert, you could help me figure out what to say.”

  “What do you want to say?”

  Merryan’s eyes flashed. “Don’t underestimate me. I have my uncle’s ear, and he’s coming for you.”

  “I imagine they already know,” Pill replied amiably.

  “They won’t come back here. They can’t. So I’m sending him to them. I need them to know what is coming. Can you help me?”

  “I believe I can, yes.” Pill smiled thoughtfully as the governor’s niece slipped out of his office. The last thing Merryan Crown needed was communications training.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Perimeter Peril

  Robyn strode into the office. Key was sitting at the desk looking pensive. He jumped about a mile when she walked in.

  “What?” she said. “You didn’t hear me coming?”

  “It’s cool.” Key smiled, fumbling with something in his pocket. “I guess I was just too far into my own head.”

  “I need to go out for a little while,” Robyn said. “I’ll be back well before midnight. I want to be here to hear what happens when Nessa goes on.”

  “You like my idea?” Key asked hesitantly. “About the broadcast tonight?”

  “Yeah, I think it’s great,” Robyn answered. “It fits our pattern. The arrows were everywhere, the rainstorm was everyone. This will be everywhere and everyone. I’m—”

  “Robyn!” Scarlet shouted from within the server room. “Robyn, get in here!”

  Robyn and Key scrambled down the hall to join Scarlet there. It was six p.m. Twelve hours before Crown’s deadline. Twelve hours before anyone had expected anything more to happen.

  “There’s another showcase going on,” Scarlet announced. “Look!” She pointed to the monitors which carried the live footage of the showcase square.

  “They’ve escalated?” Key sounded surprised. “We must have really freaked them out yesterday.”

  “I’m not prepared for this,” Scarlet complained. “We could be up there filming. If they do the rain again, it would be powerful to have a second day’s footage.”

  “They won’t do the rain,” Key guessed. “Look at the MPs around the square. They’ve more than doubled their force.”

  Meanwhile, the cameras scrolled through the live footage of the square, and the stage, and the face of the man in the chains. Robyn stared, speechless, at the screen.

  “What is it?” Key asked, tapping her arm.

  “That’s …” Robyn’s throat closed on her. “That’s my dad.”

  She couldn’t tear her eyes from the screen that showed her father. Her heart dipped and soared between relief that he was really alive and despair over what would happen to him. Up until now it had been an idea in her head.

  Jeb rushed in. “The MPs have been ordered to set up a perimeter around this cathedral. We have to get out. Now!”

  Scarlet jumped to her feet. Key and Robyn spun around, ready to run.

  In the past few months, the friends had talked at length about escape procedures if the cathedral was breached. They kept rope ladders in the bell towers. They’d cracked the seal on a couple extra windows. There was a cupboard in the basement that could fit three people, and several dozen spots that a single person could hide.

  There was no contingency plan for an MP perimeter.

  “How much time do we have?” Scarlet asked.

  “Half an hour. Maybe less,” Jeb said. “I happened to be already arriving. We got lucky.”
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  “A perimeter. What does that really mean?” Robyn asked. “Closer checkpoints? They’re not coming inside?”

  “I don’t think anyone knows it’s possible to get inside,” Jeb said. “But we can’t be sure. And we can’t be seen coming or going. This place is no longer safe.”

  Scarlet was already shutting down her systems and unplugging things left and right. Jeb began helping her pack up as much of the equipment as possible. “We don’t have time for this,” he insisted.

  “It’ll take ages to replace it all. I need this stuff. I’m not leaving without it.”

  Key ran to the office to pack up the remaining paint.

  Robyn dashed to the choir loft. She gathered the moon lore items still scattered on the desk.

  They fled the cathedral, just in time to avoid the perimeter MPs arriving. The line of jeeps converged on the cathedral area and the friends split up, carrying their separate loads in several directions.

  “Catch you on the flip side,” Scarlet called as they parted.

  “See you soon,” Robyn said, tossing her a wave. For once, their running in opposite directions felt like solidarity.

  The planned rendezvous would be much later, at the fire. For now, they deliberately planned not to lead any pursuers back toward T.C. No doubt that would be the first place Mallet’s MPs would think to look. But now Robyn found herself drifting in that direction, anyway. She hefted the satchel over her shoulder and hurried along.

  It was now or never, Robyn realized. She’d put off venturing back to the tree house because the Crescendo seemed to need her constant attention. But now, alone and on the run, it was the only obvious place to go.

  When she’d left there last, she’d been upset. She’d stumbled down the stairs, and seen something on the bottom of the tree house. The only remaining hope was to look there. It would be risky to go into the woods at night. She’d have to get past the patrolling guards. But she had no choice. There was too much at stake.

  Seeing her dad chained up onstage, surrounded by MPs, made Crown’s threat seem all too real. How had she imagined she would be able to waltz in and save him at the last minute? All this time, her mind was playing tricks on her.

  If there were answers in the moon shrines, she needed them now.

  Only one curtain was whole, and it was out of reach behind the locked door. Everything else was in fragments.

  She was only one girl.

  And she had just been run out of the closest thing she had to a home. The protection of the cathedral had bolstered her confidence. Now she felt exposed.

  Crown was gunning for her, big-time. How was she ever going to fix it all? How was she going to save them?

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Reunited

  Robyn ran into the woods, trying to convince herself that all was not lost. She had no home now, on either side of the woods. Her parents were about to be killed, and she did not have a full plan for how to save them. No matter how many times she told herself she might have to let them go to serve the Crescendo, now that push was coming to shove, she knew she couldn’t let it happen. She had less than twelve hours to come up with a REAL plan, not one based on hope and smoke and mirrors.

  She climbed the tree house steps, trying to get close enough to study the base of the structure. It was hard to see through the leaves and vines. She returned to the trunk and looked upward. There was something there, but she’d have to get closer. She held the scraps of fabric in the slices of moonlight that filtered through the leaves.

  ARROW        HEART        FLAME        LIFE        SOUL

  Nothing had changed about the scraps, or their words. The curtain messages reiterated the teamwork element. That was the part she already knew. But what about the part that was hers alone? The part where she became the fire and knew how to save everyone.

  She moved the fragments around, trying to find an order that sparked some recognition, some answers.

  A prickle rose on the back of her neck. Robyn sensed she wasn’t alone.

  Leaves rustled, too close to the ground to be caused by wind, and the soft sound of labored breathing approached. Robyn spun toward the sound, ready to fight.

  Out of the darkness, Laurel launched herself at Robyn, smothering the older girl in the sort of hug a giant starfish might give.

  “By the moon,” Robyn cried out. “Laurel!”

  The girls fell to the ground, limbs all twisted together. They laughed as they landed in a pile of sticks and leaves. Laurel clung to Robyn so tightly, she started to feel like a balloon about to pop.

  “It’s good to see you, too,” Robyn managed to eke out. “But it would be even better if I could breathe.”

  “Oops,” Laurel said, untangling herself from her friend. “I’m just so happy.”

  They sat up.

  “Oh, I’m so glad you’re all right!” Robyn brushed leaves out of Laurel’s matted hair. “You’re alive. How did you get away?”

  “They took us to a room, and then I ran.” She blurted out the story in a rapid breathless burst.

  Robyn’s eyes clouded over. “My mom?”

  Laurel shook her head. “I don’t know much. I just ran for it.”

  Robyn pushed down the tiny surge of anger that rose inside her. It wasn’t fair to be upset. Laurel couldn’t be expected to save Mrs. Loxley all on her own. It was a miracle she’d managed to get herself out. Like Laurel always said, you could get out of anywhere if you’re small.

  Robyn hugged her friend again.

  “You had to leave them,” Robyn reassured her. “You’d still be a prisoner, too, if you hadn’t.” She hugged the smaller girl once again.

  “I wish it was different,” Laurel whispered.

  “Now,” Robyn said. “Look what I found.”

  Robyn and Laurel studied the moon lore scraps. Laurel shimmied up the tree trunk to get a closer look at the underside of the tree house. “It was a curtain,” she reported. “But all the fabric has been sawed off.”

  “Sawed?” Robyn said. That was an odd choice of words.

  Laurel skidded back down. “Well, sawed, or chewed or something. Rough cuts.”

  “The shrines were truly destroyed.” Robyn sighed, resigned to this not-knowing. “The messages weren’t meant to survive.”

  Laurel leaned against Robyn’s shoulder and sighed. “I’m sleepy. Can we go home now?”

  Robyn’s heart twisted. Laurel didn’t know the truth yet. “You can spend the night in the tree house, if you want. The cathedral’s not safe.”

  “What?” Laurel looked alarmed. “My paintbrush sheets?”

  Robyn laughed. Of course that was what she’d be worried about. Not the loss of life and limb, but the loss of her favorite sheets. “We’ll see,” she said. “Either we’ll get back into the cathedral, or we’ll get you a new set of sheets.”

  “Is everyone safe?”

  “I don’t know,” Robyn admitted. “We all kind of ran for it. And then I came here. I have to go back.”

  “Why wouldn’t they all come to the tree house? Where else would everyone go?”

  “Evacuation plan. They all scattered,” Robyn mused. “I have to go meet them, but you can sleep here.”

  “No, I want to stay with you.”

  “Then we should go. They’ll be waiting.”

  When Laurel and Robyn got to Tent City, the others were hunkered around the fire, clearly waiting for them. Robyn stepped into the firelight first.

  “Where have you been?” Key seemed annoyed. “You had us worried.”

  “I was coming,” Robyn said. “I got delayed. And look what I found in the woods.”

  She turned and held up her hands like a game-show model revealing the grand prize. Laurel strolled out of the shadows, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Hey!” The group cheered in welcome.

  Scarlet leaped up and hugged Laurel.

  “Everyone’s okay?” Robyn asked.
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  “Yeah,” Scarlet said. “Thanks to Jeb’s warning.”

  “We’re talking about our plans.”

  “My parents?” Robyn asked. “Is there any news?” There hadn’t been time to assess the situation fully while fleeing the cathedral.

  Key broke the news gently. “They’ve still got your dad in chains on the showcase stage. They plan to leave him there all night.”

  Scarlet pulled up the feed on her tablet. The images were grainy, pirated from nighttime security footage. Robert Loxley stood alone on the stage. The sight of him tugged her heart. It would be a long night for him, unable to sit or relax.

  “With no guards?” Robyn’s mind lit up with the possibilities of rescue.

  Scarlet scanned the area cameras for any sign of movement in the square. “Crown’s daring you to come tonight.”

  The fantasy fizzled. “Then it’s probably a trap.”

  Key agreed. “We could double bluff him and go, anyway.”

  The crackle of logs filled the moment of silence.

  “Hmm. They brought Dad to the public stage. Why?” Robyn tapped her chin. “Mallet probably hopes to catch me quietly tonight and then lord it over Sherwood tomorrow, by having us both in chains.”

  “Not on our watch,” Laurel piped in.

  “Exactly,” Robyn agreed. “We need a plan. As public as possible.”

  She leaned toward the fire. She breathed in the heat.

  “Come dawn, we show Crown what the people of Sherwood are made of.”

  CHAPTER FORTY

  The Secret of the Sphere

  Mallet fumed as she listened to reports by her junior MPs regarding the transfer of Robert Loxley. The orders had come down through channels, they reported. They seemed surprised that she wasn’t pleased with their work.

  “You’ve got him on the showcase stage? Right now?”

  “That’s affirmative. Do you want us to take him back?” the young MP asked nervously.

  “No. You did fine.” Mallet held her anger. Better to release it upon those who truly deserved it. “But do keep checking in with me.” She ended the call.

  Orders like that should come down from her office alone. But no. Shiffley was jumping the gun. She’d have to—